Adams team has dream

School's Quiz Bowl squad an enthusiastic crew

School's Quiz Bowl squad an enthusiastic crew

December 21, 2005|JIM MEENAN Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- What is California's most famous bridge? Who composed the music from "The Nutcracker?" What is the brand name of the most popular cotton swab? Those questions are a small sample of what the Adams High School junior varsity and varsity Quiz Bowl teams faced in a recent showdown with the Kingsmen at Penn High School recently. Not to mention some very challenging ones in the field of mathematics and chemistry and some more workable ones in Roman mythology, the Bible and geography. Though Adams varsity did not quite get enough correct, falling to a 6-4 won-loss record with a 335-290 loss, it's been a good season for the Eagles as they begin preparations for the St. Joseph Valley Quiz Bowl League tournament in January. "This year we have a high energy group," said Adams coach, Paulette Cwidak. "The excitement and enthusiasm is contagious and they are so much fun." All told, there are 50 members on the team. And it's a very deep club, she said. "What we have is a cohesive group. We have a lot of starters and they are intellectual equals in many different areas," she said. The Eagles are a senior- laden group with a few notable exceptions. Much like athletic contests, substitutes can be put in at various breaks in the competition, so many participate in a match, even though only four are on the panel at one time. Seniors on the Adams team include Eric Blom, Brendan Mahon, Hannah Lamb, Stephen Veldman, Jordan Hurwich, Eric Silvestry, Ethan Hatch, Kristine Yuen and Polina Kostylev. Freshman phenom Adam Kern, like Blom, spent a lot of time in the lineup vs. Penn. "We call him the Colonel," Cwidak said of Kern. "He has really helped our team a lot." Other underclassmen seeing playing time at the varsity table include sophomore Neeta Kamat and junior Michael Smyth. Sophomore David Tidmarsh and Lacey Lord lead the junior varsity crew. Matches last about a half hour, making the double-header of JV and varsity only about an hour in length. Questions come at a fast clip, and all four participants may converse in their short time allotment to answer a question. To the casual observer, it's like the TV game show "Jeopardy." And while it's nothing like the Jay-Walk All-Stars, participants readily admit it's fun. "It's a lot of fun," Blom, a four-year "bowler," said. "A lot of my friends are in it." For Lamb, it's the team she might not be on otherwise. "I am really bad in sports," she said. "This is like a sport but it isn't really as competitive. "We care about it, but we don't really care about it too much." She, too, cites friendship as a reason to be on the team and notes it does have a few fans. "We have a couple super fans," she said. Since starting in November, the team usually has had two matches per week and has not practiced once a week like it previously did. "We don't really study for it," Blom said. "It's kind of from knowledge we learned in class." Kern has had a good effect on the team, added the senior. The freshman sensation credits his vast knowledge to his reading ability. He said he came out for the team because it "seemed fun. And a lot of people were saying I should do this so I did." Blom believes the team has a shot at making state. So does the youthful frosh. "I think it's a really talented team, so we could make it," Kern said. By the way, the answers to those opening questions: The bridge was Golden Gate, the Nutcracker music was composed by Tchaikovsky and Q-Tips is largest selling cotton swab. And, in fairness, those were some of the easier questions.